NO COOKING LAST WEEKEND

PEPPERS AND PIZZA
Last weekend was just too busy to cook. I had to cut the grass, and had a birthday party to attend. Although I did make some more of my Pickled Sweet Banana Peppers! I had two jars of the brine left so they were easy to make. The recipe for the peppers is at the bottom of this post.

I took a jar of them to a Pizza Party last Friday night. A friend was having a party and wanted to have a pizza buffet. I made small individual pizza crusts made with dough I purchased from a local pizza shop. Mione's is, in my opinion, the best pizza in this town. She had all the toppings on the counter when I arrived. I also brought a jar of the pickled sweet banana peppers, not even knowing how they would taste. I made them the week before the party and hadn't tasted them. They were wonderful! So I may make more if the garden will yield a nice batch of fresh peppers.

Everyone made their own pizza choosing from all the goodies on the table: sauce, basil pesto, cheese, hot and mild Italian sausage, fresh sliced green peppers, onion, mushrooms, jalapenos, pepperoni. It's so much fun to make your own pizza. You get exactly what you want and you can have all the pepperoni you want! Four pizzas went in the oven at a time, baked for about 7 minutes and came out hot and bubbly! The trick was remembering which pizza was the one you built! They were delicious and the Mione's crust did not disappoint ... crunchy and chewy at the same time. The kids adored making their own mini pizzas and at every last bite of their own creations.

One of the other guests made a dessert pizza: Brownie Pizza with all kinds of wonderful toppings. I'm not even sure what was on it but I do know it had chopped candy bars (maybe they were Snickers), m&m's, crushed pretzels, chopped pecans, mini marshmallows, and then it was drizzled with melted chocolate! Absolutely sinful, but delicious and a fabulous party dessert!

And of course, that wasn't enough so she also made Sweet Kabobs! Skewers threaded with strawberries, caramels, Oreo cookies, pretzels and marshmallows, also drizzled with melted chocolate. They were absolutely decadent and beautiful and made a very impressive presentation! I would recommend them for any party and the kids will love them! However, I will add that the gal who made them said she would leave the Oreos out next time. These would be wonderful using anything you like that would taste good with chocolate drizzle: fresh pineapple chunks, or banana chunks.

I made myself and extra pizza to go and just had it for breakfast while writing this blog. Yum! I love pizza for breakfast sometimes!

Here is the recipe for the Pickled Sweet Banana Peppers: Some of my peppers had ripened to a pretty red color and they look so pretty in the jar.

1/2 lb. of sweet banana peppers, seeded, sliced (enough to stuff 2 pint jars)
1 med sweet onion (like Vidalia), sliced thin
2 c. white vinegar
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 T. of pickling spice instead of the mustard and celery seed (you can buy a little bottle almost anywhere)
The pickling spice has more spices and will give you the flavor of bread and butter pickles. That's what I use.

You'll need 2 canning jars that have been washed thoroughly in hot soapy water and rinsed well.

Fill the jars with the sliced peppers and onions. Go ahead and pack them in tightly if you have to, but leave about 3/4" from the top.

Bring all the other ingredients to a rolling boil in a medium pot. When the liquid has boiled, ladle it over the peppers and leave about 1/2" of space in the jar. Be sure to clean off the rim of the jar so there is NO pickling liquid on it. Use a damp paper towel. Put on the lid and ring and tighten the ring so it won't leak. Now turn the jars upside down on a board, cover with a dark towel and let them sit for at least 24 hours. Done!

Hope you enjoy these! They will be wonderful on a pizza, on a sandwich, in salads or on hot dogs or burgers.

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

Sounds like a kids game or a problem with your tummy! But Bubble and Squeak is a traditional dish from the United Kingdom and was originally a concoction made to use up leftover potatoes during food rationing times. But it's become a favorite, still using leftovers if you have them, and it's a wonderful dish for a brunch. Of course the dish can be made from fresh food too. You don't have to have leftovers to enjoy this hearty dish.

As a matter of fact, I made it because I has these beautiful little jewels of cabbages in my garden. The heads were small, but fully mature so I picked them and Bubble and Squeak came to mind immediately. You might wonder why that came to mind first. I first saw Bubble and Squeak on the Food Network when there was a show called Two Fat Ladies. They made this on their show and I've been making it now and then ever since.

It's a very inexpensive way to feed a lot of people, too.

Here are the ingredients:

2 T. Canola oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 medium head of cabbage, trimmed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 - 5 sausages, casings removed and browned in a skillet
4 - 5 medium potatoes, cubed and boiled until just done.
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Eggs - optional

So in summary, before I even give you the whole recipe, here's how it's done, just so you see how easy it really is.

Saute onions
Add and cook cabbage and carrots
Brown sausage
Boil potatoes
Mix it all together in a big pot


In a very large skillet, add the canola oil and saute the onions until they are softened, but not browned.

Add the chopped cabbage and the sliced carrots, stir, and keep covered over med-low heat, stirring frequently until the cabbage cooks down and is soft and sweet. If you like, you can leave the cabbage a little less cooked if you like a bit of crunch left in it. This should take about 15 minutes to get all that cabbage cooked.

In the meantime, while the cabbage is cooking, remove the casings from your sausages and cook in a large skillet, breaking it up until it's all browned. When it's finished, add about 3 T. of water to this skillet and scrape up all the browning in the bottom of the pan. This will add a ton of flavor. Just set this aside until the cabbage is done. I used sweet Italian sausages. You can use any kind you like. Bob Evans breakfast sausage would work - use one or two of those 12 oz. packages, depending how meaty you would like your Bubble and Squeak. I used 4 sausages because that's what I had in the freezer.

Also in the meantime, wash and cut up the potatoes and get them boiling - just like you would for mashed potatoes. No need to peel the potatoes - I never do. Cook until they are just tender. Drain into a colander.

OK, now the cabbage is cooked, the sausage is browned, and the potatoes are done. If your cabbage skillet is large enough, put everything into it and mix well. If not, then get yourself a larger pot, like a soup pot, and put it all in there.

Serve this on a buffet for brunch or on the side like you would corned beef hash. This morning I chose to spoon some into a skillet, turned on med-low heat to let it brown slowly, and broke an egg over the top. Put a lid on it and let it cook until the egg was done. This took about 5 minutes.

Get Bubbling! This dish is so good it'll make you Squeak!

PEPPER POPPER DIP

More Sweet Banana Peppers in the garden. They are definitely the most prolific crop in the garden this year. It's been so hot and dry, no matter how much I water, some of the crops are just not responding. But the banana peppers grow and grow!

You've all most likely heard of Pepper Poppers? You know, those appetizers you can get in so many restaurants where a jalapeno or poblano pepper is stuffed with cheese and then baked to within an inch of it's life.

With all these peppers, it came to me that I could make a sort of Popper Dip! As it turns out, it's wonderful! All hot and bubbly, it's a fabulous dip for a party, or just for yourself. I've been dipping it on melba toasts or pita chips while I sip on a glass of wine and cook dinner. Mmmmm. Yummy

Basically I took a crab dip recipe I have, tweeked it a little and substituted the crab with sliced peppers. Play with the recipe -- add cumin -- leave out the curry - double the garlic - leave it out entirely - add a diced jalapeno. Make it your own by using ingredients and flavors you love!

Here's how I made it.

1 8 oz low fat cream cheese (DON'T use fat free - it's awful!**)
1/2 low fat or fat free sour cream
1 T curry
2 T fresh thyme
1/2 t. smoked or regular paprika
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 T hot sauce (or to taste)
pinch of red pepper flakes (more to taste or leave out entirely)
2 cloves fresh garlic finely minced
8 large banana peppers, seeded and sliced into thin rings
Salt to taste

In the microwave, soften the cream cheese so it will be easy to stir. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Put into a lightly greased oven safe dish and bake until bubbly - about 15 minutes or so. If you want to use the microwave cook on high for 3 - 4 minutes. Stir, and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes . Stir and cook for 3 - 4 minutes once more making sure the dip is nice and hot.

Transfer the dip into a nice bowl and serve hot with pita chips, tortilla chips, or crostini toasts. Your friends will love this! Enjoy!

** As I mentioned, don't use fat free cream cheese. I'm all for low fat and fat free products - I use them all the time. But fat free cream cheese tastes like paste! It's awful and there is nothing you can do to make it taste better. I once made a Boursin Cheese Dip out of it. I tried adding more garlic, more herbs, salt, I even added some soft butter to it to try to make it richer. Nothing worked. It still tasted like paste.

GARDEN TO TABLE

Lots of veggies picked today.
What to do? Make a fabulous vegetarian platter and add a beautiful piece of fish if you like!

Smoky Zucchini and Yellow Squash

Sliced 1 med zucchini and 2 med. yellow squash into halves and then into slices to get half moon pieces. Place in a bowl.Toss to coat with:
1 T olive oil
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1 t salt
Saute in a hot skillet until just tender. Remove to a platter.

Sliced Radishes with Tarragon
3 cups of sliced radishes. Slice radishes into 1/2 inch circles. (The radishes I used happen to be a giant variety that look almost like a red carrot, but any kind of radish will work.
1 T. olive oil
1 T butter
1 t. salt
1 T. dried tarragon
Dash of agave syrup or honey - maybe 1 teaspoon.

Saute the radishes in the oil and butter until they are just tender. Add the salt and the dried tarragon and syrup or honey. Stir for 1 minute and the set aside on the platter.

Baby Spinach with Garlic

Wash about 5 cups of baby spinach leaves and drain well. Saute in a large skittle with
2 T. Olive oil,
2 T dried garlic
1/2 t. salt.
Saute until the spinach has given off most of its liquid and evaporates from the pan. Set aside on the platter.

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic and Chives
6 small red or white potatoes- cut into quarters
Boil until they are tender.
Drain the potatoes. Add:
1/2 c. non fat canned milk
1 T butter
2 - 3 T. Greek Yogurt
1 - 2 cloves very finely minced or pressed garlic cloves
1 T salt
2 T. fresh chopped chives.
Mash all together until as smooth or chunky as you like. Add more milk or yogurt as desired for consistency.

Salmon
Saute lightly salted salmon steaks in a skillet with a little canola oil. Cook for about 3 - minutes a side until done. Set aside on the platter.

Dill Cream
1/2 C. plain greek yogurt
1 t dried dill
2 t. tabasco sauce
1 t dried shallot or onion
1/2 t. salt.
Mix all in a small bowl and garnish salmon with it.

Now make yourself a plate from all the beautiful vegetables you just prepared!

SWEET BANANA PEPPERS

After harvesting only one eggplant, a little lettuce and a few peas so far this year, I had several large sweet banana peppers ready for picking! They will end up on a Sweet Pepper Pizza tonight with a base of a little low fat cream cheese, a little sausage and a few thin slices of red onion.

1 Homemade, or prepared 12 inch pizza crust
4-6 sweet banana peppers, cleaned and sliced into rings
1/2 medium red onion, sliced thinly
1 link of fresh (sweet or spicy) sausage, fried and crumbled (optional)
1 - 8 oz. low fat cream cheese
1/2 t salt
1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
2 cloves finely minced garlic, or about 1 t. dried garlic (more to taste)
crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Olive oil to drizzle (optional)

If you are making homemade crust, prepare your crust and par bake it until it feels done, but lacks color.

In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, garlic, salt and the yogurt together and spread on the pizza crust. Top the cheese with the sausage, sliced peppers, and onions. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a few red pepper flakes if you like.

Bake at 425 for about 6 - 8 minutes, until bubbly and brown.


My basil plants also needed cutting back. So I put most of it into a container of water to use from the counter all week, and the loose leaves will be made into a compound butter. Anything I don't use in a few days, I'll hang to dry.

1 stick unsalted butter, soften to room temp
1/2 chopped basil
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 t kosher salt

Add the all the ingredients to your food processor and whiz until just blended. If you don't have a food processor, just make sure everything is very finely minced when you blend it with the soft butter. Then put the butter into a airtight container and refrigerate.

Use this butter on anything! Melt a little on top of a char grilled steak. Spread on a piece of toasted crunchy bread, melt into a little cooked pasta for the kids!

WEEKDAY BREAKFAST IN A SNAP

Are you making a stop at your favorite fast food place every morning for a breakfast sandwich? It's a filling and comforting meal at the beginning of the day, but if you think about what you are eating, and what you are paying for it, you may decide to change what you're doing about your morning meal.

An Egg McMuffin from McDonald's for example, has more than 300 calories, 12 grams of fat, tons of sodium and 235 mg of cholesterol, 78% of the daily allowance in this tiny sandwich! I don't know how many calories, fat and cholesterol are in a sandwich you would make yourself, but I can guarantee you it's no where near that high. I once ordered a McMuffin and watched the guy put it together. I saw him squirt something out of a squeeze bottle onto the muffin -- looked like about a tablespoon of something. I asked the gal what it was. She said it was butter.

Ok, that's it! I make my own from now on, or if I have to have one because I'm in a hurry, I ask for it with no butter. Here's how you can make your own breakfast sandwiches in a snap for the entire week. (By the way, check my post called This and That back in March to see a little gizmo I found to make eggs just like those in an egg mc muffin.)

Today I chose to make a batch of western omelet eggs (without cheese) but you can use your favorite combination of ingredients. Use a little bacon, or leave out the meat all together and use your favorite combination of vegetables with some cheese, or just plain eggs. I'll make some more combination suggestions at the end of this post. I stopped in at a Dutch Country Market over the weekend and found some beautifully lean, fresh ham for $3.25 per pound (just a few pennies more than the cost of one mc muffin.) It was still hot when they sliced it from the whole ham.

3 slices of deli ham, diced (about a cupful)
1/2 of a green pepper, diced same size as the ham
3 - 4 T. of chopped onion, diced about the same size as the ham
1 T butter (the same amount that's on one McMuffin!)
6 eggs
2 T water
Choice of bread - English Muffins, Kaiser roll, whole wheat toast, etc. (I cut out the center of thick rolls to cut down on the amount of bread I'm eating. I use two centers for another grilled sandwich at another time. 2 rolls equals 3 sandwiches.)

Fry up the ham, peppers and onions in the same skillet all at one time on medium heat until the ham browns a little. While it's browning up, crack the 6 eggs into a bowl and whisk with the water. (To make this even more healthy, use 3 whole eggs and 4 egg whites. Discard or freeze the yolks.) Pour the eggs over the ham mixture and stir gently until the eggs are done to your liking. Remove from the heat just before they are done.

You now have a pan full of eggs that's enough to make about 5 - 6 sandwiches. Just store the eggs in a plastic container. Each morning, warm up a portion and you have a fresh sandwich that you can make and run with. Eggs warm up really well in the microwave in about 15 seconds. You could even make up all the sandwiches at one time and wrap them individually in foil or in a sandwich bag. Then take one out of its wrapper and wrap in a paper towel in the microwave for about 20 seconds to freshen it up when you want one.

So not only are you saving a ton of calories, fat and reducing your sodium intake, you are saving a lot of money. Five Egg McMuffins cost about $15.00. The whole pound of ham $3.25 (I used about $.81 worth), rolls (about $.35 each), 6 eggs (about $.17 each) and I already had a pepper and onion in the house. That's about $4.00 for five or six sandwiches. And it all took only about 15 minutes to chop everything and cook it. Since I didn't use all the rolls or all the ham I bought I'll freeze the rest for another time. Although I'm not a cheapskate, I am a penny pincher.

Give it a try making your own to improve the nutritional value of what you are eating and save some money.

Here are some other combinations you could try, and they would all be just as good without the bread. By the way, you don't need any salt with most of these because some of the ingredients are already salty, like the ham and any cheese you might use. So don't salt unless you have to.

Asparagus tips and Swiss cheese
Scallions and mushrooms
Spinach and mushrooms
Mushrooms and Swiss cheese or cheddar cheese
Shrimp with muenster and a hint of tarragon
Herbs - try and handful of parsley with a tiny bit of fresh oregano
Cheddar cheese and onions
Sausage and mushrooms (use turkey sausage)
Green peppers and onions
Or try the works! Sausage, onions, cheese and green peppers!

If your using cheeses use just enough to flavor the eggs to avoid adding too much fat.

One of the things I hope to accomplish by writing this blog is not only as a release of my passion for cooking, but to give other people ideas on how to be creative in every day cooking and how to save time and money as well as eating healthier. The more you cook with different ingredients, the more you learn about how different flavors go together, how the same technique of cooking can be used for so many recipes.

Until next time!

Springtime in the Garden

Before you read the rest of this post, you should know that I want to apologize for taking so long between posts. Busy-ness, time, and laziness have all taken a part in my neglect to post more often. But here is the latest post I wrote, more than two week ago and failed to post until now.

Also, I have taken a new attitude and realize that I don't have to post all of my most intimate thoughts about food and food preparation to publish a post. I can just post recipes that I've run across or created myself. This particular post was actually written three weeks ago, and I haven't publish it. Why? I have no idea. The Laziness excuse is somehow ringing true. Or maybe I'm busy. don't know. Anyway, be prepared for narrative, with my deepest thoughts about food and its preparation, or just a recipe only.

The herbs have begun making their way to my cook pots and baking pans. Today, I picked some chive blossoms and parsley. Aren't they pretty? I have a ton more coming so I'll be sure to go out every day and pick the open blossoms. The ones that don't get used fresh will be dried and stored in airtight jars. I'll make Chive Blossom Biscuits with the blossoms, and mince the parsley for the freezer unless I have a chance to use it fresh first. I'll use a good buttermilk biscuit recipe and lace with chive blossom petals and some chopped parsley. The blossoms have a light oniony flavor, but somehow deeper than that. The scent of something more savory comes across when you pick them. I know it sounds weird, but when I pick them it makes me wish I had a char grilled steak drizzled with some melted butter that's been infused with chives and a fluffy baked potato with sour cream (low fat) and chives.

The greenhouse this year hasn't given me the germination rate I wanted so I need to get some seeds in the ground. I've planted 4 beds of peas, 60 plants in each bed. I also got the garlic and the shallots in the ground. I hope to get some beans planted today. And if I can manage, I'll get some lettuce and radishes in the ground over the weekend too.

This morning I made some Bran Flax Muffins. Had a craving for some carbs but didn't want to eat bread or pasta. The were yummy. Kind of carrot cake, but not as sweet, and crunchy with nuts and flax seeds. These muffins are a pretty health alternative, and have 1/2 the regular, flour of regular muffins. It called for ground flax seed and oat bran instead of so much flour, and are chock full of grated apples and carrots, walnuts, almonds, raisins, and dates. The apples and carrots replaced most of the fat you'd normally use. This recipe called for only 2 T. of vegetable oil.I know most people don't keep oat bran or ground flax on hand. But this recipe is worth going to an organic shop to pick up a bag, and make these muffins for breakfast. Once you have the oat bran and ground flax seed on hand, you can make 2 or three batches of the muffins. They are so good for your, you should try them. Just don't eat them all in one day!

Here's the recipe. I got it on line.

BRAN FLAX MUFFINS

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. ground flax seed ( I added about 1/4 c. whole seeds too)
3/4 c. oat bran
1 c brown sugar
2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
2 t. ground cinnamon
3/4 c skim milk ( I used non fat evaporated milk because that's all I had)
2 eggs, beaten
1 t. vanilla extract
2 T. vegetable oil
2 c. shredded carrots (about 3 large carrots)
2 apples, peeled and shredded (I didn't peel them)
1/2 c raisins
1 cup chopped nuts (your choice, I used walnuts and almonds cuz it's what I had)
1/2 c. chopped dates (optional - I added them cuz I had them)

Preheat the oven to 350
Grease muffin pans or use papers

In a large bow add all the dry ingredients down to the cinnamon. Stir together
Add all the wet ingredients, blend together.
Stir in the apples, carrots, nuts and raisins (and dates if you use them)

Fill Muffin tins 2/3 full.

Bake 15 - 20 minutes, until toothpick comes out dry. I used smaller muffin tins so 15 minutes did it. A jumbo muffin tin may require 20 minutes or more.

The rest of my day was spent in the garden getting everything planted. did get more peas done and a nursery bed of string beans. My husband likes to take them out of this bed and move them to a permanent place. That way we can try to germinate a lot of seeds and have enough to move into permanent places.

I once read in a gardening magazine that you could use old cds to scare pests away. So I tied old cds to our garden cage covers to help keep the baby bunnies and birds out of the freshly planted beds and digging up the seeds. We'll see if it works. (Since that time my husband told mne he didn't like those. They "disturb" the peace of the garden with all their movement and glimmer. So now I write on them and use them as plant markers and stick them in the ground to mark the beds with what I've planted. I actually like these as plant markers. Use a Sharpie and your cd markers will NOT fade.

Ta Ta for Now (TTFN).